A new study published in Environmental Science and Technology found microplastics in 100% of the seafood tested. Researchers acquired 10 oysters, 10 farmed tiger prawns, 10 wild squids, 10 sardines, and five wild blue crabs. All of the samples tested positive for at least trace levels of plastics, with varying amounts of plastic in each type of seafood. Sardines had the highest levels of plastic.

The study found that in an average serving of seafood, a person could consume approximately 0.7mg of plastic when eating oysters or squid, and up to 30mg of plastic in an average serving of sardines. A grain of rice weighs 30mg, on average.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

“From the edible marine species tested, sardines had the highest plastic content, which was a surprising result,” Riberio told the University of Queensland. “Another interesting aspect was the diversity of microplastic types found among species, with polyethylene predominant in fish and polyvinyl chloride the only plastic detected in oysters.”

Seafood Study Finds Plastic in 100% of Samples

Polyethylene, the most popular plastic in the world, was the most common plastic found in the samples. Plastics commonly end up in the ocean where they breakdown into tiny pieces called microplastics. Microplastics are absorbed by plankton and eaten by other marine life and are carried through the food chain. Microplastics are in everything, from the food we eat to the rainwater.

A new study in the journal Food Control shows that the avocado oil you purchased may not be 100% pure avocado oil. Like with olive oil the standards are not widely regulated and some comapnies are ripping off health-conscious customers. Scientists analyzed 22 different kinds of commercially available avocado oil to find that 15 had gone rancid before their sell-by date, while six were likely cut with large quantities of cheaper oils.

Related: Best Cooking Oils – Health benefits, Smoke Point, Which to Use and Avoid

In three instances, bottles labeled as avocado oil actually contained 100 percent soybean oil.

The Counter

The study found that many of the oils labeled extra virgin and refined were adulterated with other oils, and 82% of oils went bad before their expiration date, indicating they were of poor quality. Three out of the 22 oils tested were almost 100% adulterated with other oils, like soybean oil. Co-author of the study, Selina Wang said some adulteration was expected but not at such a high level.

When an oil is exposed to oxygen, peroxides and other oxidation products form, thereby giving the oil undesirable odors and flavors. While not as conspicuous as the FFA values, the trend toward high oxidation was also evident. In other words, many of the oils were rancid well before their “best by” date.

The Avocado Oil Fraud

Oil is considered authentic when no other additives or oils are added, and the contents of the oil match the label. Oil quality is determined by the extraction process, the quality of the raw food, storage of the oil, and the hydrolysis of the fruit and oxidation of the oil. Many of the oils tested were of low quality. This could explain some of the quality issues as this oil may have improper storage or extreme processing conditions, and the fruit used to make the oil could potentially be rotten or damaged.

Related: Stop Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet

Healthy levels of free fatty acidity (FFA) for avocado oil is between 0.1 and 0.055%. Three of the 22 oils sampled had FFA around 2.5%, with extra virgin oils having FFA levels ranging from 0.03%-2.69%, the average being 1.31%. The avocado oils tested also showed high levels of vitamin E content which can suggest that soybean oil may have been added.

Glyphosate is one of the most toxic, widely used weed-killers today. Glyphosate has been linked to changes in the gut microbiome, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and hormone disruption. While the International Agency for Research on Cancer has labeled glyphosate a probable carcinogen, the EPA maintains that it does not pose a threat to public health.

Glyphosate also poses an environmental threat. Studies have shown that glyphosate could pose a threat to the honey bee population, damaging their specialized bacteria in their gut. The damages caused to the bees have also shown to make the bees more susceptible to harmful pathogens, and affect their migration patterns.

This is likely just the tip of the iceberg. The effects of glyphosate on the environment and surrounding ecosystems are largely unknown, as not enough research has been conducted.

A new study has shown that going organic can reduce the levels of glyphosate, in both children and adults, by more than 70% after 5 days of eating organic.

It’s egregious that our government is allowing pesticide corporations to profit off of poisoning us when we know that organic farming works. These are chemicals that do not need to be in our bodies,” Klein said. “An entire system is invested in continuing pesticide intensive agriculture, while our farmers are fighting for pennies to do the research they need to support them to expand organic farming.

– Organic diets quickly reduce the amount of glyphosate in people’s bodies

Out of a total of 158 urine samples, 94% and 97% of samples tested positive for Glyphosate and AMPA, respectively. Children were shown to have nearly 5 times more glyphosate in their bodies than adults.

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate

While glyphosate levels dropped radically after days on an all-organic diet, glyphosate can remain in the body through bone and bone marrow.

Additionally, the family’s organic diets were all varied and were essentially just organic versions of what they already ate. Imagine what their glyphosate levels would have looked like had they seen an increase in organic vegetable consumption, and were actively trying to detoxify from glyphosate.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut 

Glyphosate can still be found in organic food. There is glyphosate everywhere, in yards, school grounds, and parks all over the world. It’s unavoidable. If you’re concerned about your exposure to glyphosate, you should be living a lifestyle that promotes detoxification on a regular basis. We start off every day with a big salad, with lots of diversity, and drink lots of cranberry lemonade

One of the largest contributors to the declining bee population in recent years has been linked to neonicotinoids, an insecticide not unlike nicotine. At this point, it is well known that bees are absolutely critical to our survival, as they are responsible for pollinating upwards of 70% of the crops that make up 90% of our diet.

In addition to the damage done to the bee population, a new study in Nature Sustainability has shown that neonicotinoids are also causing a drop in the bird population.

While bird populations have been steadily dropping anyway — the authors note that the bird population in the United States has dropped by an estimated 29 percent since 1970 — the researchers were able to separate out the general drop in bird biodiversity from the specific drop that appeared to be due to neonicotinoid spraying. 

The pesticide that caused bee colonies to collapse is killing birds now

Neonicotinoids are used at a much lower rate than non-neonicotinoids, but they are radically more toxic to the environment. Birds are able to ingest neonicotinoids when they eat crop seeds or insects, and there is a correlation between the consumption of the pesticide and a decline in bird populations.

The study found that a 100kg increase in neonicotinoid use per county resulted in a 2.2% decrease in grassland bird population, and a 1.4% decrease in non-grassland bird population as well as a 1.6% decrease in insectivorous bird population and 1.5% decrease in non-insectivorous birds. The effects of these pesticides become larger over time as there are fewer and fewer birds able to mate and reproduce.

Recommended: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut

As further evidence, scientists also found a positive correlation between a decrease in neonicotinoid usage and the bird population.

After ingesting the pesticide, birds lost weight and waited longer to migrate. Neonicotinoids have also had a negative effect on the reproduction of both birds and bees.

As I’m sure you can imagine, any chemical that is toxic to birds and bees, and other insect life, is also toxic to humans.

California Appeals Court rejected Monsanto’s effort to overturn a trial victory by California school groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, who developed cancer after continual use of Monsanto’s product Round-Up. Glyphosate, among other ingredients in Round-Up, is known to cause non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Image: BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS

Johnson is entitled to $10.25 million in compensatory damages and another $10.25 million in punitive damages. The appeals court stated that Johnson was entitled to punitive damages because Monsanto acted with “willful and conscious disregard of others safety” Johnson’s lawyers presented the courts with internal emails and other records clearly showing Monsanto scientists discussing ghostwriting scientific papers to support the safety of Monsanto’s products as well as plans to discredit critics.

Documents also showed plans to suppress the government’s evaluation of the toxicity of glyphosate. Monsanto anticipated that the International Agency for Research on Cancer would classify glyphosate as a probable or possible human carcinogen.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

Tens’s of thousands of plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against Monsanto, with 2 trials taking place after Johnson’s, both resulting in verdicts against Monsanto. Bayer, which finalized purchased of Monsanto in 2018, stands behind the safety of Round-up.

The appeal court’s decision to reduce the compensatory and punitive damages is a step in the right direction, but we continue to believe that the jury’s verdict and damage awards are inconsistent with the evidence at trial and the law. Monsanto will consider its legal options, including filing an appeal with the Supreme Court of California.

Appeals Court Upholds Groundskeeper’s Roundup Cancer Trial Win over Monsanto

A new study done by UNICEF and Pure Earth shows that 1 in 3 children have dangerous levels of lead in their bloodstream. In the study, 800 million children had lead levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter, or more, in their bloodstream.

Lead pollution can cause mental and physical damage and can impair development of the nervous system, the brain, and many vital organs. The longer lead is undetected in the bloodstream, the more dangerous it becomes.

The unequivocal conclusion of this research is that children around the world are being poisoned by lead on a massive and previously unrecognized scale.

Nearly one in three children have dangerous amounts of lead in bloodstream: study

The CDC, as well as the WHO, have cited inadequate battery recycling as well as open-air smelters as large contributors to lead pollution. The study, in addition to the disposal of lead batteries, pointed to peeling paint with lead in it, electronic waste dumps laced with lead, and food contamination from lead glazed pottery.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

Lead batteries are likely one of the biggest contributors, nearly 85% of all lead used going into battery production. Europe and the U.S recycle more than 95% of their batteries. Unfortunately, developing countries don’t always have the funds or facilities to properly recycle batteries.

If you’re looking for a way to detox from toxins such as lead, check out this article on how to detox cheap and easy without fasting.

A study published by Genome Medicine has shown that antibiotic usage in young animals increases their likelihood of developing inflammatory bowel disease when they are older.

This evidence furthers supports the idea that using antibiotics in children under the age of one disrupts the gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome is essential for a healthy immune system and the prevention of disease.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

This study provides experimental evidence strengthening the idea that the associations of antibiotic exposures to the later development of disease in human children are more than correlations, but that they are actually playing roles in the disease causation.

 -Study co-author Martin Blaser, director of the Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut

Researches examined the effects of dextran sulfate, a chemical that injures the colon, in mice that received antibiotics, mice that had disrupted microbial contents transplanted into their intestine, and a control group. The results showed that the mice who received antibiotics or disrupted microbial contents had noticeably worse colitis than those in the control group.

This study is a continuation of Martin Blaser’s hypothesis that disrupting the microbiome early in life is one of the large factors in modern epidemics.